Techno World

What would the world come to if we weren't able to search the world wide web? I am almost certain it would cease to spin on it's very axis or at least slow down a bit.

So I had no internet for 2 days and a half. At first I thought I would lose my mind. The time I needed it the most (as always is the case with something you always have until it's gone) was the time it decided to stop working. I was a little peeved at the company because they were supposed to send someone on Saturday and he never showed (why call, get directions, say you are on your way and then not show up at all). After calming down a bit, I figured having no internet for a day or two wouldn't kill me. Thankfully, I of have a life I can go on living. But it sucked all the same.

I remember life without internet. I was fine. I lived. I spent most of my time in my room listening to music on the RADIO (not an ipod or even a cd player), reading (actual books not magazines) and hanging with friends. It wasn't so bad. Things were a bit slower, but you still got things done. I spent my first 2 years of high school without email. I didn't even know how to navigate the web, much less set up an account.

In school, computer class was more about learning how to write and save files, create new documents and do simple projects using computer tools. We did not learn how to search a web engine or grab and post images off the web into folders.

I remember the first computer we got. It was bought mainly for my sister so she could do her homework more efficiently. I think I was still in middle school. It was one of those small, white, bulky, early ones. All it had were the basics plus a few games, like space invaders, family feud and win lose draw. I LOVED that computer and spent a lot of time on it. I sure did know how to occupy my time on that machine without the aid of the internet.

So why now, do I find it boring being on the computer if I can't log on to cyber space? The most I do on the computer now without internet access is, download pictures from my camera, view pictures and maybe play a game or 4 of solitaire. Thats' it! Ninety-nine percent of the time, if I am on the computer, I am on the internet. Shame, shame, shame.

Lucky for me though, I am a simple net user. I don't go much for all the hip new sites like mypsace and facebook. I don't twit; I don't even know what the hell Twitter is. I might get on utube once in a while. But I stick to the tried and true, for the most part. I have one or 2 message boards I frequent and that is where the bulk of my time is spent, besides my recent obsession with blogging. Don't get me wrong. I am all over the internet. My favorites list has grown quite long, with some of the sites I like to visit now and then. Like Craigslist, MTV, of course my yahoo email account and a few others. They give me my daily fix.

Technology, I feel, snuck up on us in a big way. There was the time when hardly anyone had a computer in their home. Now almost everyone not only has a computer but also has internet as well. And if they don't, there are a million places to go, besides the library, to get it.

I often times wonder, what would these cyber junkies do, people whose lives ARE the internet, if there was to be no more cyber space. They lived once without it right? I assume they would survive... as with any addiction, there would be a withdrawl period. But eventually it would seep out of their system and they would find something else to occupy their time.

It's like the cell phone craze now-a- days. There was a time when people actually had a private conversation in the privacy of their own home on a home phone (if they had one). There was a time when, if something happened you wanted to share with someone, you had to wait until you saw that someone in person or got home to give them a call. Now, most people would just DIE if they went ONE day without a cell phone. Why wait the dreadful 10 minutes to get home and make a call when they can do it right in the here and now? No, we are in the 'do it now' world and so a simple call to say " I'll be home in 5 minutes" must be made while on the bus or the train because waiting the actual 5 minutes to get home to say "I'm home" would be too much. They would literally implode. Honestly.

I don't begrudge anyone their techno gadgets, but what a world we live in. The "fast paced, need it now, have to tell them right away" mind set that makes internet and cell phones and ipods and every other high tech invention a necessity. Which in reality, they really have become. No one can deny they do serve their purposes... after all, cell phones come in handy in an emergency. And how would we become such informed citizens of the world without the internet?

I have actually said a few times that I could not live without my internet. But really, is that true? I had lived 15 or so years without it. It didn't really become a big part of my life until after Boobie was born and I wasn't that into the internet until past the age of 20. It became essential for school, but I rarely spent much time on the computer to become fascinated with all it had to offer. Then one day that all changed. My first foray into the cyber world led me to a few sites that ultimately led me to a mesage board and then I was hooked.

There were times I went without internet and got used to life as is, but once I got sucked back in, there was hardly any tunring back.

Granted I use the net for other, more important, things. I use it to stay in touch with my family. Being so far away from them, using the internet to stay connected has become essential. I use it to get imformation when my kids are sick (err on the side of caution as there is a mountain high of information out there, some useful, some not). I use it to share pictures of my kids with my family, who don't have the priveledge of getting to see my kids grow up (thank man for the digital camera). It definitly unites us. And information, like the birth of a baby or death of a relative or just everyday events, are passe along so much quicker with the internet.

It's not to say I am technologically obssessed, especially with my internet. But life just seems so much easier with the web. So while I feel I could live without internet, I feel like a big chunk of my life would now be missing.